Facade
by PandoraxDestiny
Summary: Sometimes attention is not exactly desired and one would like to be left alone, like him; and then there are those who do not garner attention and are fine with it, but secretly desire to be noticed, like her. When their fates intersected, neither had any idea of what was to come. KisexOC.
1. Chapter 1: Fated Encounter

**Facade**

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**A/N: **Originally made for my friend on Wattpad as a ReaderxKise fanfiction, but as writing in an interactive perspective is not allowed on this website, reader has become an OC. For the original version, visit the link to my Wattpad account on my profile and you should find it there.

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**Disclaimer:****Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi**

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**_'A mask put up to hide what we really feel. After all, what they don't know won't hurt them...right?'_**

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**Chapter 1: Fated Encounter**

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_"Ne, ne, isn't that him?" he heard a girl whisper excitedly._

_"It's Kise Ryouta!" squealed another girl._

_"I heard he made it into the first string of the basketball club."_

_"Really?! He's so cool!"_

The person in question mentally sighed. It was always the same, every single day. He was sick of it. But of course, he wouldn't show it. He put on a bright smile and waved at the crowd of girls surrounding him. They squealed.

He continued on his way, all the while smiling at his fans. He didn't exactly enjoy having them swoon over him, but it was part of his job to respond to the people who supported him. He was a model after all.

All he really wanted right now was for them to leave him alone. He currently just wanted peace and quiet; was that too much to ask for?

He scanned the crowd of supporters; most of them blushed and commented that he was looking at them. Some of them fought about who he was really looking at, but he wasn't even looking at one specific person.

It was quite amusing, watching them fight over him. There was really no point since he wasn't into the type of girl they were anyway. He preferred a quiet person who would listen and accept him for who he truly was; someone like Kurokocchi.

His smile grew wider at the thought of the phantom player of Teikou. He was definitely Kise's favourite out of all the Generation of Miracles.

Continuing on his way in a much brighter mood than before, he noticed out the corner of his eyes a flash of obsidian separated from the rest of his fans. But when he turned for a better look, there was nothing there.

* * *

"Class, today there'll be new seating arrangements!" the teacher announced, looking down at the clipboard in their hand. The class chatted excitedly, going on about the people they hope they will placed with; but some just groaned, finding this process troublesome as they found their desk perfectly fine.

Kise just stared out the window in boredom; he didn't really care about who sat near him, as long as they weren't too noisy. If he was lucky, maybe it would be someone interesting.

The teacher called out the new seating arrangement, but Kise remained in the same spot. His seating position did not change at all.

Everyone shuffled around, locating their new desks. Kise looked up as the chair of the desk in front of his scraped against the floor, creating an unpleasant ear-grating noise. His eyebrows twitched and the edge of his lips tilted down, forming a frown. The person sat down and Kise saw ebony hair. His eyebrows furrowed as he did not recognize the female classmate sitting before him.

Now, Kise prided himself in knowing all the girls in the school; well, now _almost_ all the girls in the school.

He stared holes into the female teen in front of him, trying to recall who she was. He couldn't remember, and it frustrated him to no end.

And so that's how the rest of the lesson continued.

* * *

When the bell rang for lunch, the unfamiliar raven haired girl stood up and left the classroom, never glancing back.

Students gathered around Kise, mainly girls, asking him if they would have lunch with them, but he politely refused in a cheerful carefree manner, telling them that he was going to eat with the rest of the regulars in the Teikou basketball club. He then proceeded on his way to the rooftop to meet with his friends.

"Kise-kun, is everything alright? You're spacing out," the sky blue-haired boy next to him asked. Kise blinked and snapped out of his trance, putting on the usual smile once again.

"Nope! Everything is alright Kurokocchi," he replied brightly. Kuroko gave him a doubtful look. He was not convinced.

"No you're not," he retorted bluntly. Kise sweat dropped.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" he protested.

"So what's wrong? Girl troubles?" interrogated a dark blunette, casually slinging an arm around Kise's shoulder.

"Huh?! When did you get there Aominecchi?!" Kise exclaimed in shock. Aomine was beside Kuroko just then!

"That doesn't matter. So, tell me, what's wrong?" Aomine demanded, closing in on Kise with every word. Kise gulped, he was put into an uncomfortable position and the look that the blunette was giving him was intimidating.

"N-nothing," stuttered the blonde. Aomine opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the door to the rooftop squeaking open. The group turned to see who it was and Kise's eyes widened in surprise.

It was the girl with black hair.

Now that Kise could see her properly, he noticed her amethyst eyes and long lashes. She had smooth, unblemished skin and a button nose with small rose coloured lips.

The girl had a small, petite stature and she wore the girls' uniform along with the school's button up jumper which seemed a size too big. White knee-length socks and indoor shoes completed the look. She looked ordinary, like most of the girls that attended Teikou; maybe a just little above average.

She glanced at the group for a brief moment, but then focused on Kuroko, disregarding the rest of them.

"Tetsuya-kun, the librarian requests our assistance. Now," she informed Kuroko, emphasising the time the librarian needed them. Kuroko nodded in understanding and stood up, bidding them goodbye before following the nameless girl to the library.

Silence ensued after the two left.

"I wonder who that was," Aomine asked to no one in particular. That seemed to be the breaking point for Momoi who had remained silent with the rest of the generation of miracles during the interrogation of Kise.

"Who does that girl think she is?! Calling Tetsu-kun by his first name!" she shrieked. The guys had to cover their ears from how high the pitch was. Momoi's face was flushed in rage as her chest heaved. Aomine sweat dropped.

"But you call Tetsu by his first name too..." Aomine trailed off as Momoi trained her fierce glare on him. He gulped.

"I'm the only girl who's allowed to call him that," she said darkly, crushing the juice box in her hand.

"Relax Momoi, she's a library assistant, just like Kuroko. That means that they spend quite a lot of time together, and since she's a library assistant, she must like books; just like Kuroko. So it's understandable if they're on first name basis," reasoned Midorima, pushing his glasses up.

"But-" protested Momoi.

"That's enough," ordered Akashi. Momoi's shoulders fell as she gave up with a distraught expression.

"So," began Aomine, turning to Kise with a sly smirk, "Is that the girl you're having trouble with?"

Kise's breathing abruptly stopped and he stared with wide eyes at Aomine.

"What are you talking about?" he answered, laughing nervously afterwards whilst rubbing the nape of his neck, eyes darting about, refusing to look at his friends. Aomine's smirk grew wider.

"So it is," He hummed. He was going to have so much fun blackmailing Kise.

"...This week, Oha-Asa predicted that Geminis are going to have a fated encounter with a fated person that will have a huge impact on their lives," Midorima randomly inserted. Kise froze.

"What?"

"That is the horoscope for Geminis today," Midorima informed, pushing his glasses once again.

"Oh! Do me next!" exclaimed Momoi excitedly. "What's my relationship with Kuroko supposed to be like?"

"Momoi, I've told you before, with Kuroko being an Aquarius, and you a Taurus, it won't work out. You're not meant to be," Midorima replied. Momoi continued to sulk.

"Then how about me?" Aomine asked, "What's my horoscope for the week?"

"Virgos may be experiencing their luckiest week of the month. If you experience a lucky streak, it is a reward for something you did earlier that made this happen."

"Hmm, what's mine Mido-chin?" Murasakibara asked, stopping for a moment in eating his snacks.

"Libras will need see the bigger picture or outside the box as they may make a wrong decision."

"Then what is Aka-chin's?"

Midorima cleared his throat before announcing it to the curious group.

"You shouldn't interfere with things you shouldn't, but if you do, the results may be very unexpected."

* * *

It was after school and Kise was making his way to the gym for basketball practice when he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" he apologized, quickly turning around to help that person up. He was surprised to see the girl from earlier.

"It's fine," mumbled the girl, so quietly that Kise had just barely heard. She ignored his outstretched hand and stood up by herself, smoothing her uniform free of any creases that may have formed during the fall.

"I'm glad you're fine," Kise told her with a smile.

She glanced at him and mumbled something incoherent.

"Hm?" Kise tilted his head to the side.

"I said I don't like you," she said louder. "You're so fake, trying to act like someone you aren't. I hate people like you the most."

And with that she left, leaving behind a shocked and flabbergasted blonde.

* * *

Basketball practice had just finished and the regulars of the said club and their manager were on their way home, but they made a pit stop at the convenience store to buy icy-poles.

"Say Kurokocchi, who was that girl from earlier?"Kise asked the phantom player.

"Yeah, who was she?" Momoi asked as she clung to one of Kuroko's arm, pressing her breasts firmly against it.

"Hm? You mean (l/n)-san?"

"Yep."

"Shouldn't you know Kise-kun? She is your classmate after all," Kuroko inquired. Kise flushed as everybody turned their gazes onto him.

"You don't even know your own classmate's name," Aomine stated dumbly.

Silence hung into the air until someone made a 'pft' noise and snickering followed.

"Don't laugh!" Kise cried indignantly in embarrassment, the pink dusting his cheeks fading into a dark shade of scarlet.

"Kise's right, this is no laughing matter," Kuroko told them. Kise brightened.

"Kurokocchi!"

"This is serious because he doesn't know the names of his classmates."

This just made most of the group laugh even harder as Kise returned to a gloomy state.

"Seriously guys," he mumbled.

"Although," Kuroko began, the group silencing, getting ready for his speech, "I have to wonder why he doesn't know her since Kise knows practically knows every girl at school."

"...That's true," Aomine said thoughtfully, his hand cupping his chin as he stared up at the sky.

Unbeknownst to the others, Kise had a determined look on his face.

* * *

As Hitomi entered the classroom, she could feel a gaze following her. From the corner of her eyes, she could see a certain blonde model staring intensely to her. After a split second, her eyes flittered away from his form and she sat in front of him, waiting for the lesson to start.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling the blonde behind her burning holes into the back of herr head. Finally feeling fed up with him, Hitomi turn around and give him a glare.

"What do you want?" she asked; annoyance was evident in her voice.

The blonde model's look of concentration started turning into a pout, and his eyebrows started furrowing anymore if possible. He didn't respond, and that only served to piss Hitomi off even more. A tick mark formed and she swerved around to face the front again with an 'hmph'.

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He didn't understand.

Why didn't she fangirl over him? Squeal and turn bashful in his presence? He just couldn't understand at all. But at the same time he was fascinated. He wanted to find out why she didn't act like the other girls. Curiosity burned passionately inside him.

"Why aren't you like them?" he asked aloud. He watched as she only turned her head halfway, although he had her full attention.

"Excuse me?" she questioned with a slightly puzzled look. Somehow he found it endearing, that look of confusion.

He pushed that thought away and asked again, "Why aren't you like them?"

A brow rose, "Who?"

"All the other girls. You don't act like they do around me."

"Are you calling me abnormal?" she accused him. With a huff of indignance, she turned to face the front again, fed up with him once again. "I don't understand why they like you. You only got looks and they don't know anything else about you. I think that they're fools for liking you based on looks."

That took him by surprise. He hadn't met a girl quite like her before; one that based people off their personality rather than looks. He didn't know why, but it made his heart beat a little faster. Whether it was a good or bad thing, he didn't know. Suddenly he felt a little more confident and playful, almost like how he felt with the Generation of Miracles.

"Oh? So you admit I got looks?" he hummed, leaning forward with one elbow propped and chin resting on his palm.

The girl swerved around so quickly it seemed as though her head was going to spin off. Her (e/c) eyes were as wide as dinner plates and her face was flushed as red as it could get, and if possible, getting redder and redder by the second. Her mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water and he couldn't resist playfully saying, "You should close it; wouldn't want a fly to fly in now, would you?"

That only earned him a glare which would've been terrifying if not for her blushing face. Were her ears turning red too?

"Shut up..." she grumbled and turned around, refusing to give him any more attention and making a bigger fool out of herself.

Yep, her ears were definitely red.

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**_'It's pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people's first impressions of people are really a big mistake.' – Vincent D'Onofrio_**


	2. Chapter 2: Interference

**Facade**

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**A/N:** ...I'm sad there are no reviews, but okay. If you ever have an idea you'd like incorporated into the story, don't hesitate to tell me, if it fits into my plotline, I'll try my best to include it! Aside from that, a big thanks to those who have favourited and followed the story ^^

**Fun Fact:** Hitomi was supposed to be a really quiet unnoticable girl - like Kuroko - who was interested in music and books, but somehow she ended up as a tsundere ^^;

Anybody excited for season three of Kuroko no Basuke?!

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**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

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**_'_****_A mask put up to hide what we really feel. After all, what they don't know won't hurt them…right?'_**

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**Chapter 2: Interference**

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He infuriated her.

The way he thought he could get anything he wanted with just a smile was something Hitomi absolutely hated.

And she hated how he had tried to use that on her.

Worse; she actually fell for it.

Hitomi buried her face in her arms, disgusted with how her heart had betrayed her and started rapidly beating when he spoke with her. She refused to be one of those brainless fangirls and dismissed the heartbeats she experienced earlier as simply hormones. No teenager could possibly avoid it, it was part of puberty. Hitomi absolutely did not want to be attracted to him, she felt nothing towards him. Nope. Zilch. Nadda.

Around her, Hitomi could hear the sound of chairs scrapping against the floor, creating a horrible screechy noise that made her cringe. Chatter surrounded her as her classmates made plans for what they were going to do now since school was over for the day.

Once silence infiltrated the air, Hitomi looked up, her sight slightly bleary, trying to adjust after being immersed in darkness, only to be greeted by a face practically breathing on her own.

She squeaked. "W-What?!" Hitomi squealed, backing away. She fell off her chair. "Eh?"

A crash sounded in the classroom and Hitomi winced from the loud sound, as well as from the pain that streamed in her body. "Itai…" she grumbled, rubbing her aching backside. She glanced up to glare at the offender who had caused this to happen and she found an amused blonde sitting in the chair that matched the desk in front of her.

"You…" she trailed off murderously. Hitomi had no words to describe this guy. All she heard was a chuckle and she snapped her face back up to look at him again as she had lowered her head when preparing to insult him. God, she really wanted to hurt this bastard really badly right now.

"Are you alright?" he asked, getting up from his seat and offering Hitomi his hand. She 'hmphed' and got up herself, refusing to submit to his help.

"I would be if it weren't for you." Hitomi retorted menacingly. Despite saying that, Kise didn't look offended at all. It sort of pissed her off.

"I'm sorry." he replied, undeterred; a bright smile was plastered on his face. Rage boiled within Hitomi. The least he could do was not put up that façade in front of her. It was offensive, him believing that she would be fooled by his fake front. Hitomi snorted and took a step forward, ready to give him a piece of her mind, only to trip over your chair which had fallen when she fell. She 'eeped' as she fell forward, bracing herself for the impact.

However, Hitomi's face never met the floor. Instead, below her there was a warm body.

"Ow…" said the person below her. Hitomi instantly shot up, only to come face to face with a certain blonde. Her face flushed at the close proximity and she could smell his scent from how close she was to him. _'Oh, God no!'_ she thought in horror. She did _not_ just land on him. Hitomi quickly scrambled away and crawled into a ball, sort of hyperventilating.

"Um…What's wrong?" a masculine voice asked. Hitomi peeked out and saw Kise blinking at her owlishly, dumfounded with the situation at hand.

"…I usually take my shower quite late, but it appears today I'll have to take one as soon as I get home." she informed him bluntly with a level tone and empty face. He looked offended, but entertained at the same time.

"Come on, I can't be that bad." he mused, drawing closer to her. Hitomi shuffled away and gave him a warning look that clearly stated that he should not come any closer than he already was. He disregarded the look and took another cheery step forward. This continued until Hitomi were backed against the wall. She glimpsed at the door to her side from the corner of her eyes, but she realised with dread, _'I won't make it in time.'_ Hitomi knew he was stronger and faster as it was well known in the school that he was in the first string of their renowned basketball team. He also had longer legs, which was so unfair. Compared to Hitomi with her sedentary lifestyle and short, stubby legs, she stood no chance against him. Never had she felt so far away from her goal. _'This must be what they meant by 'so close, yet so far'.'_

A gently tap snapped Hitomi out of your reverie and almost made her jump out of your skin, literally. She slowly turned her head to meet the smiling face of a blonde model. He had opened his mouth to speak when the classroom door slid open.

"…Am I interrupting something?" inquired a fascinated voice. They both swivelled their heads to face the intruder and saw that it was a red-head with matching eyes. You both flushed, understanding what he was implying. He looked at Hitomi. "Is that your girlfriend, Kise?"

Hitomi immediately went into a state of denial and stammered, "O-Of course not! Who would want to date this idiot?!" And with that she stood and quickly stuffed everything in her bag and stormed out.

* * *

"O-Of course not! Who would want to date this idiot?!" he listened to Hitomi say. _'Most girls besides you…'_

He watched as she stormed out of the classroom agitated and clearly embarrassed, leaving only him and his friend. A silence had settled after the sliding door was slammed shut loudly, just telling them how much force was put into doing so. Kise coughed and asked the red-head, "So, Akashicchi…what are you doing here?"

Akashi gave him a piercing stare that unnerved him and answered, "I'm here to retrieve something I accidentally left behind."

Kise sweat dropped. Akashi didn't need to give him that long-winded explanation – just a simple "I forgot something." would've done – but who was he to question his captain's way of talking? Not him.

...It wasn't like he was afraid and didn't want to get punished. Not at all…

"And Kise, you're late for practice." Akashi informed him with a pleasant smile.

"Eh?" Kise glanced at the clock nailed to the wall and saw that Akashi was right. "Ah, crap!" And with that he dashed out of the room, his bag trailing behind him.

_'__Akashicchi could've told me sooner! I spent too much time teasing Chumoku-san!'_

Left alone in the classroom, Akashi looked at the door where his two classmates had rushed out in a hurry.

"Hmm, interesting." He commented with a smirk, fingering the shogi pieces in his pocket.

* * *

The next day Hitomi went to school, she did what she usually did, come to school and sit down alone, avoid a certain blonde, be a good student, avoid a certain blonde, eat lunch, avoid a certain blonde, go to the library, avoid a certain blonde, go to class, and avoid a certain blonde…did she mention avoid a certain blonde? Yeah, because that was what Hitomi usually did all day; kind of hard since he sat right behind her and had a habit of annoying the hell out of her. But seeing as how she was able to accomplish that, it was a good day; well, in her books anyway.

After school, Hitomi went to the library to sort out books as she was on duty. It was quiet and practically empty, just the way she liked it. She hummed a short tuneless tune as she sorted the humungous pile of returned books back to their shelves. She worked better in peaceful environments, so she diminished the pile of books that needed to be sorted quite quickly. It wasn't long before Hitomi reached the last pile of books – sorting the books into what genre they belonged to helped as well – and picked them up, moving to the non-fiction area about sports. With how the library was set up, this specific location was at the opposite end of the room on one of the shelves that looked out the windows that bordered one wall of the library.

Imagine her surprise when Hitomi saw her red-headed classmate from the day before. She had almost lost footing, but was able to stop tripping in time as well as prevent any books she was holding from falling. Altogether, Hitomi had managed to avoid causing a scene and embarrassing herself. After she composed herself, she hid to the side behind a bookshelf and slid down with her back against it, letting out an inaudible sigh of relief. God, Akashi Seijuurō was unnerving, his mere presence could make anyone feel insecure and inferior – her included.

He had been sitting on a chair with one leg propped up. He was playing a board game. S_hogi_, Hitomi concluded. He was facing away from her, sitting in front of one of the windows to be more exact, and had a concentrated expression plastered on his face.

She hadn't talked to him much before – not that Hitomi talk to many people since not many people notice her or want to be her friend. She was average and had good relationships with most people in her class, but that was it. Most of them forgot Hitomi after the year ended anyway – and she had no intention to start now. Hitomi disliked being in his presence since it felt like he could stare into her soul, and he could see what type of person she was and was judging her for that. It was like he stripped her down and she felt bare and exposed; just like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Gathering her nerves, Hitomi took a huge breath and silently collected the pile of stacked books from the floor and put on a poker face to hide her discomfort. She stepped out from behind the shelf and pretended that she didn't notice him and began placing the returned books in their proper places. She mentally sighed in relief as Akashi didn't interact or disturb her. She was going to get away safely and unscathed, she could tell.

Normally Hitomi would have made her escape as quickly as possible, but she had let her guard down and decided to exit slowly. That was a huge mistake on her part. Just as Hitomi were about to leave, a commanding voice called out from behind which automatically caused her to freeze and stopped her effectively in her tracks, "Stop."

She gulped and she felt very self-conscious. Even though Hitomi wasn't looking at him directly, she felt his looming aura behind her. _'I spoke too soon._'

Hitomi slowly cranked her head around and saw him still in the position she had seen him earlier. He wasn't even looking at her, yet she still felt his empowering presence. Usually when someone was being as rude as he was – speaking to someone without even looking at them; it made them seem cocky and Hitomi absolutely hated that – she would tell them off, but she didn't have the heart to even feel a spark of rage. Even though Hitomi had only ever inspected Akashi from a distance, she could tell what type of person he was. She always had the ability to see through people and discern things that most wouldn't be able to, even if they were extremely close to that person.

Hitomi had been alone for most of her life. Her parents were almost always abroad, and when they did come home, they either had meetings or came home extremely late at night when she was asleep and left early before the sun even rose in the morning. They never seemed to have time for her and Hitomi had even wondered if they loved her at all. It was a silly thing to question herself, and as a youngster she had always told herself that they did, after all, love was unconditional. It was as she was growing up that Hitomi started doubting herself after seeing what the world was truly like. 'The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple', as quoted by Oscar Wilde; and she believed it. Hitomi found out what humans were really like and she was no longer the young naïve girl she once was. She found out that love may not have been as unconditional as she had thought. The only times Hitomi had been acknowledged by them was when she did something well academically, and through that, she had determined that love was in fact, conditional.

Since she was neglected as a child, Hitomi had to fend for herself and learned many skills. Despite the hard trials she had to endure, she was able to break through and she had never regretted the things she had to do in order to gain those abilities; after all, Hitomi learnt from her mistakes. Even at school she was generally left alone. Because of the harsh lifestyle of being brought up without parents and only a housemaid who was hired by them, she already had a mature outlook on life and was excluded by the other children because of it, not to mention, being the teacher's pet didn't help her. Hitomi was bullied by jealous classmates, but had never reacted and they soon gave up. But of course, children hold grudges for a long time and had resorted to using the silent treatment against her instead, not that she really cared. Hitomi was treated as invisible, but had used this to instead examine others in her age group. That was where her ability to analyse people had stemmed.

"Chumoku-san," Hitomi heard Akashi continue with his authoritative tone, snapping her out of her reverie. She unconsciously clenched her fists instinctively as cold sweat slid down the back of her neck. This was usually when the opposite party would reply, but he was the type of person who you don't respond to until they were done speaking. And boy, he was far from being done speaking. "I have a request to ask of you."

Hitomi blinked in surprise. _The_ Akashi Seijuurō was asking her for a favour? She must be dreaming. She inconspicuously pinched herself and winced from the sharp pain that pierced her skin. Yep, it was definitely not a dream.

"The Basketball Club is in need of another manager. It appears that Momoi has been stressing lately under the pressure of all the work that she has been given by the Basketball Club." He informed, finally turning away from his game and facing Hitomi. Realisation dawned upon her face as she realised what he was getting at and she were preparing a speech of protest mentally that would seem like a reasonable idea to deny what was going to be asked of her. By accepting his request, it would mean that Hitomi would have to spend more time with that despicable blonde that sat behind her in class, something she dearly wanted to avoid. Hitomi was sure she was ready when he asked what he wanted.

"May you please take up the role of being the Basketball Clubs second manager." he commanded rather that asked. Hitomi had opened her mouth to respond, but the words got stuck in her throat as your mind went blank when he directed his piercing gaze on her. Seeing as she were going to protest, his eyes narrowed before pleasantly smiling in that intimidating way of his and saying, "I hope to see you next practice."

He stayed for a couple of more seconds to let the effect of his words sink in before leaving, the unspoken, "That was not a request, but an order" lingering in the air.

After his back had disappeared from sight, the fear that had held Hitomi hostage finally released her and she crumpled to the floor whilst letting out a huge breath she had no idea she had been holding. Hitomi shuddered.

**Just what had she gotten herself into?**

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**_'_****_I'd rather you hate me for who I am rather than love me for who I'm not' – Christine Foord_**


	3. Chapter 3: A Female Friend

**Facade**

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**A/N:** Ahahaha I finally updated… (though this one was on my Wattpad for a couple months. I'm one of those people who update spontaneously whenever they want, so you shouldn't expect too much from me…

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**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

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_**'**__**A mask put up to hide what we really feel. After all, what they don't know won't hurt them…right?'**_

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**Chapter 3: A Female Friend**

* * *

The gym loomed above Hitomi intimidatingly.

It was the now the day after Akashi had forced her into joining. Although she wouldn't admit that to his face, she had no idea what she was supposed to do; all he had told her was that Momoi-san, a girl who Hitomi had inferred to be their current manager, needed assistance and she was here to ease her work load.

Hitomi wondered what type of person this 'Momoi' girl was. Despite being a girl herself, Hitomi only had limited communication with those of the same gender – as well as the opposite. She knew she was socially inept and she could never find the courage to speak with others unless necessary, a trait that had continued from elementary. An image of a strict and cool senpai conjured itself into her mind; that type of person she would admire – intellectual, calm and collected. But despite that attitude which Hitomi respected, she realised that a serious flaw would be that she would most likely be a perfectionist too and Hitomi was nervous that she might not be able to complete work to her standards. Because of this, Hitomi were frozen on the spot and couldn't seem to lift a single foot and walk in; though she was sure she could probably lift a foot to high-tail out of here.

As she was going to go through with that plan, a hand landed on Hitomi's shoulder, causing her to shriek and jump. She elbowed the offender behind her purposely in which he – she could tell due to the masculine nature of his voice – responded to with a groan. She sharply swerved around, getting into a defensive position. Hitomi knew that those martial arts lessons that she partook in when she was younger were going to come in handy one day.

Imagine her surprise when she only turned to face a certain blonde model crumpled on the ground clutching his stomach in agony. Instantly, guilt blossomed within her, along with a little regret and worry which she pushed to the side. Who would feel regret and worry for this idiot? Certainly not her.

Hitomi 'hmphed' and gave her classmate a condescending look, and with a tone that matched, she declared, "Well you certainly deserved that. Let that teach you a lesson to not sneak up behind me."

From the ground, Kise gave her a pained grimace and responded, "But I wasn't even trying to sneak up behind you; all I did was tap your shoulder."

Hitomi's cheeks flared in embarrassment at being frightened so easily, but she coughed to cover it up. "A-anyway, what do you want?"

The blonde heaved himself off the ground slowly and it seemed like a painful process. She would've offered her hand, but that would mean admitting that she was in the wrong, something which Hitomi definitely didn't want Kise rubbing in her face. She was sure that if he knew, he would tease her about it for the rest of her life. Hopefully he wouldn't be in her life for very long.

"…I wanted to enter the gym, but you were blocking the way." he explained. Hitomi didn't think her cheeks had ever burned as much as they did now, the heat was unbearable and she was starting to lose her cool. This was not a good situation.

"I u-um, I-I w-w-was j-just-" she stuttered incoherently, but was cut off by the model.

"Let's go in~" he hummed cheerfully. His hand was on the small of her back, urging her forward, leaving Hitomi no room to complain. Before she knew it, her decision had been made for her and she was stumbling into the gym awkwardly. Because of how long Kise's legs were compared to hers, she almost tripped and embarrassed herself more than once, but was lucky to catch herself in time.

* * *

"You're late." stated Akashi in a tone that had Hitomi tensing and straightening her back. She gulped. The way his eyes roamed over her made her self-conscious. How they seemed disapproving of her whenever she saw them only served to further lower Hitomi's self-esteem. Beside her, Kise laughed nervously whilst rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Ahahahaha…yeah…" he replied, not bothering with an excuse. Akashi just stared blankly at him before saying, "Start practising, your training regime is now tripled."

The blonde basketball player face strained and looked like he had sucked on a lemon. He seemed to want to argue, but knew that Akashi would probably just punish him more – like doubling the tripled training regime. He sighed in resignation and hung his head before making his way over to his teammates who were already hard at work.

Hitomi was still and her mind was blank. When he looked at her expectantly, it took her a while to realise that he was still expecting an answer from her. Hitomi somehow managed out, "Yes."

He continued to stare at her a while longer, instilling fear into her even further before calling out a female name. "Satsuki."

A feminine voice replied and Hitomi glanced to the side and saw a girl who she had seen around her year level, Momoi Satsuki. She was quite popular among the student body. She had long, silky pink hair that was tied into a ponytail with bright emotive eyes that matched her hair. She was taller than Hitomi and had a stunning figure. Hitomi's eyes zeroed on Momoi's chest and slight jealousy blossomed in her chest. Hitomi's were nothing to laugh at – and wasn't at all that noticeable due to her oversized jumper – but compared to Momoi's, it would be.

Hitomi recalled Momoi's personality from all the times she had observed her. She was a kind girl who was willing to help others out and was favoured by teachers. She hung out quite a lot with the first-string of the Basketball Club, more specifically, Aomine Daiki. From their interactions, Hitomi had been able to deduct that they were childhood friends. Momoi Satsuki also appeared to have a huge crush on Tetsuya, though Hitomi realised that her friend didn't really return the same sentiment.

"Ah! It's you!" Hitomi heard Momoi exclaim when she had reached her. Hitomi blinked in surprise; she was pretty sure that she had never interacted with Momoi before. "You're the one who called Tetsu-kun by his first name!"

Next thing Hitomi knew, Momoi was right up in her face and gripping her shoulders with more force than necessary, causing her to wince. A sickly sweet smile was painted on Momoi's face. "What's your relationship with him?" she asked, applying more pressure to her grip.

"We're just friends…" Hitomi replied, confused as to why Momoi was reacting to her like this. She returned to Hitomi's reply with a dubious look, not quite believing that was the truth. Hitomi thought back to what Momoi had exclaimed earlier. _"You're the one who called Tetsu-kun by his first name!"_ Then it suddenly dawned on her. _Wait; don't tell me she thinks we're more than friends because I called him by his first name?!_ she cried in her head. Hitomi opened her mouth to tell Momoi that she and Tetsuya were by no means dating when she spotted the said guy beside Momoi. "We are just friends, Momoi-san."

Momoi spun in surprise before flushing at seeing her crush. "A-Ah, is that so Tetsu-kun, I see."

With that, Tetsuya nodded in Hitomi's direction in which she responded with one of her own and returned to practice, Momoi still swooning after him. After finishing staring after her crush, she coughed and gave Hitomi a sheepish smile. "I guess it was my mistake." she admitted.

Now that Hitomi understood why Momoi was acting towards her the way she was, she waved her off saying, "It's okay, you acting like that because you like Tetsuya-kun, right?" A bright pink blush rose on Momoi's cheeks and she turned around with her hands placed on her cheeks. "I didn't think it was that obvious! But yes, you are correct."

Without any warning, she whirled around again and clutched Hitomi's hands, making her take a step back in surprise. "Okay, so I have to tell you what you're going to do. I'm currently evaluating weaknesses so that everyone can improve. I've managed to do the first-string and some of the second-string. Can I please ask you to do the thirds-string? And after doing that, please tell them what they should improve on."

Hitomi nodded; relief flooding through her system as what Momoi was asking of her was within her limits as analysing was something Hitomi excelled at, being one of her talents. "Sure."

Momoi beamed at her and told her, "If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask me, 'kay?"

Hitomi nodded awkwardly, not really knowing how to deal with Momoi. Hitomi's interaction with other human beings were quite limited and those who she interacted with tended to be quiet people, as opposed to the bright person Momoi was. But despite how talkative Momoi was, Hitomi liked her. Hitomi guessed this was what people called 'charisma'. It was something that she didn't possess. Hitomi remembered looking it up in a dictionary before.

**Charisma**

_Noun_

Divine gift or talent; capacity to inspire followers or disciples with devotion and enthusiasm

She sometimes wondered what it would be like to possess charisma, be surrounded by people who liked her. She had never experienced it before – and Hitomi realised that the blonde idiot had it; the power to draw people in.

Snapping out of it, Hitomi found that Momoi had left her and was now nose deep in her notebook recording the weaknesses of the members in the second-string. Her eyes were like hawks, darting around everywhere and catching everything they did, no matter how little it was. Her hand never stopped moving, and even though they were moving faster than Hitomi could ever move them, it seemed like they weren't moving fast enough to record everything Momoi was thinking.

_Wow…_Hitomi thought, awed by her ability. No wonder she was the manager of the Basketball Club. Hitomi grudgingly tore her eyes away and made her way to where the third-string was practising. She opened the notebook that was in her hands – she didn't notice when it got there, Momoi probably handed it to her when she was daydreaming – and readied the pen that came along with it. She observed a guy individually for several minutes, noting habits along with their weaknesses before moving onto the next guy. This took around an hour and a half, not including their break times. There were quite a lot of members in the third-string and Hitomi had detected several faults that they most shared – like their dribbling and teamwork skills.

"Excuse me, can everyone please gather?" she asked loudly. Hitomi knew it could be heard over the bouncing of basketballs and squeaking of shoes, yet no one answered. It was as if she wasn't even there.

_I know they can hear me. Why are they acting like this?_ She thought to herself in perplexity, eyebrows furrowing. Were they so engrossed in training that they wanted to continue? Or maybe they were playing a prank on her because she was new to the club…or they were just ignoring her and refusing to listen to her remarks.

That last thought sent a surge of anger through her. How dare they snub her! Then, from behind her, she heard a loud clap.

"Hey everybody, listen to Hitomi-chan!" Hitomi heard a familiar voice call out from behind her, a slight hint of anger in their voice. She swerved around and as she suspected, it was Momoi. Her eyes were narrowed into a glare that was being directed at the guys. They instantly stopped what they were doing and glancing at Momoi had them bowing their heads in submission and guilt.

"U-Um…Thanks, Momoi-san." Hitomi stuttered, the words foreign on your tongue. She rarely thanked people, being a very independent person, but also because she never socialised much anyway.

Momoi gave her a soft smile. "It's alright, Hitomi-chan. It was my pleasure to – and you needn't be so formal; just call me 'Satsuki'."

A small smile twitched into existence on Hitomi's face.

"Of course, Satsuki-san."

* * *

**_'_****_Friendship is a horizon – which expands whenever we approach it' – E.R. Hazlip_**


	4. Chapter 4: The Promise

**Facade**

* * *

**A/N:** I've finally updated \O□O/

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi

* * *

**_'A mask put up to hide what we really feel. After all, what they don't know won't hurt them...right?'_**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Promise**

Upon being instated as a manager of the basketball club, albeit only for the third tier, Hitomi began hanging around Satsuki. Or maybe it was more like the rosette-haired started hanging around her? Not that it really mattered anyway since all that was necessary to know was that the two of them could be seen together more often.

Hitomi no longer spent as much time as she usually did in the library. The time that she had reserved specifically for it after school was now taken up by her position as one of the managers of the basketball club, and the time she reserved for it during recess and lunch was now not available due to the librarian constantly escorting her out with a grin whenever she took one step inside and saying, "Hitomi-chan, you should spend your time with your friends!"

Which brought her to where she was now.

Hitomi's eye twitched slightly as she surveyed the members of the 'Generation of Miracles' surrounding her. When the librarian had told her to spend time with Satsuki, she did - but that also required her to spend time with six of the first-string members in her year level.

To Hitomi's left sat Satsuki with a giant smile on her face, trying to feed Tetsuya who just stared at her with his usual blank face beside her. Next to him was a dark-skinned blunette who Hitomi was introduced to named 'Aomine', not that she didn't know that already. Hitomi's seen him countless times before around Momoi (or was it her around him?), and he was popular among Hitomi's peers too. Sitting to Hitomi's right was Midorima, the spectacled greenhead with long, elegant bandaged fingers...and a Horikata Mai magazine resting on his lap?! Hitomi inconspicuously shuffled slightly closer to Satsuki who was berating Aomine who had swooped in and gobbled up the bite that she was offering to Tetsuya. Hitomi thought Midorima would be a kindred soul, being quiet and all, but maybe he was a creeper, a pervert - who else would carry porn around in the open so casually? But maybe this was normal for teenage boys, after all, his hormonal levels would be rising since hitting puberty. Hitomi mentally shook her head; she didn't want to dwell on that thought. To Midorima's right sat a redhead Hitomi knew all too well. Whenever her gaze met his, fear would still automatically instill itself and root her to her spot like a trapped prey. Hitomi immediately lowered her eyes to avoid his, but she thought she could feel them roaming over her face as she looked back up to study the giant purple-haired teen beside him. Murasakibara munched on his chips noisily, inserting one after the other repeatedly as though he was programmed to do so. Hitomi desperately wanted to tell him to close his mouth while he ate since crumbs were spraying out of his mouth and it was just plain gross how she could see him digesting his food, but she remembered an episode from first year he had where he threw a tantrum and trashed the classroom when someone had belittled him and she couldn't gather the courage to voice her thoughts.

And of course, then there was that idiotic blonde squeezed in between the man-child and the ace of the basketball team.

As though he could feel Hitomi's eyes on him, Kise glanced over at Hitomi and noticed her staring. A smirk rose to his lips and he raised one brow in her direction. She flushed at how obvious she had been, staring at him openly like that, but she tried to fight it as she didn't want to stroke his ego any more than it had already been. Trying to distract herself, Hitomi went back to eating her lunch and drowned out the sound of Satsuki shouting at Aomine and Murasakibara's munching with her thoughts. With her current predicament, Hitomi mourned the loss of her silence and independent time.

It was a relief when the bell rang to signify the end of lunch. Never before had Hitomi been so glad for the bell to ring; and never before had she missed the library so much.

* * *

Hitomi cherished the time that she had before school finished.

No. She was not a nerd who adored school, even if she was a straight-A student. Hitomi merely wanted to avoid basketball club as much as possible, even if it meant staying in class longer than necessary, no offence to Satsuki. However, in her current predicament, she could not appreciate the liberation she had before it was time for her to go to basketball club.

_Poke_.

She could feel her eye twitching and a vein throbbing.

_Poke._

Hitomi's patience was starting to thaw. She swore to herself if that jerk poked her _one_ more time, she was going to go beat him to a bloody pulp.

_Poke_.

That was it. When the teacher once turned to write something on the chalkboard, Hitomi spun around with a murderous gaze directed at the blonde behind her who had his pencil midway through poking her again.

"What do you want?" she whispered furiously. Kise blinked, face blank before a bright smile lit up his face. In the corner of her eyes, Hitomi could see that the girl sitting to his left was swooning which just added to her anger further.

"I just want to talk," Kise said, tilting his head slightly in what Hitomi assumed was an attempt to act cute. Her eye twitched again. Disgusting. And because he was currently wasting her time.

In the midst of her conversation, Hitomi noted when Kise had placed his pencil down on his exercise book. Incensed by his distracting behaviour, she shot out her hand, grabbed his pencil, broke it in half and threw it at the blonde. Satisfied, Hitomi went back to facing the front of the classroom, and just in time for the teacher to turn around and start talking again. Perfect.

A ball of scrunched paper landed in front of her. Maybe she spoke too soon.

Suppressing the frustration building up inside of her, Hitomi gave the blonde behind her a sideways glare and stashed the note he threw into the space beneath the surface of her desk. She was relieved that after that there were no more distractions.

In the middle of writing something down, Hitomi found out that the lead of her mechanic pencil kept on retracting back into the hole which it came out of. She let out a sigh as she realised that the lead had reached the end of its use and searched in her pencil case for another one to insert in. Hitomi bit her lip when there was none and remembered she had offered the last one to her classmate on her left the day before when they desperately pleaded for her to give it to them when they had run out. Well, now she did too. It also didn't help that Hitomi only ever used her mechanic pencil since you found them so much better than pencils. Perhaps she should start investing in pencils to use as backup if this were to occur again. Then Hitomi remembered that she kept some spare lead under her desk and went to retrieve it. While doing so, the ball of paper fell out and landed on her lap. She was going to stuff it back in when a small spark of curiosity urged Hitomi to see what the idiot behind her had written.

Hitomi surveyed the area with her eyes before deeming it okay to look and she discreetly flattened out the paper and stared at the words.

_There's a stain on your skirt. Thought you should know._

_-Kise _ ～（ゝ。∂）

Hitomi's eyes widened in surprise and yshe straightened up, suddenly self-conscious. She turned her head slightly and stared in something akin to horror at the blonde behind her for affirmation on his statement. Kise stared right back and caught her gaze.

"Really?" Hitomi mouthed.

He nodded. "Really."

Hitomi could feel the blood rushing to her face and she swore the blood rushing there was going to burst out of her head. She shuffled in her seat uncomfortably, wondering if the stain was that noticeable.

Wait. She didn't have a pad on, and Hitomi really needed one to stop the bleeding from staining her clothes further. Fast.

Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Hitomi waited for the teacher to walk past before tugging on their clothing. When they bent down to hear her, she whispered, "Sensei, can I please go to the nurse and get a pad, I'm on my period."

The teacher coughed, uncomfortable with the situation. They were not trained for this. Standing back to their full height, the teacher gave her a nod and then turned to Kise and said, "Kise, go with Chumoku to the nurse's office."

A look of absolute dread overtook Hitomi's face. Maybe she should've waited till class was over to put on a pad, even if it meant staining her skirt further. It would've been better than being accompanied by that blonde idiot to the nurse's office. Hitomi wanted to bury her face into her hands when she imagined what he would do once they were both outside of class.

"Okay, sir!" Hitomi heard the annoying chirp of her nightmare say behind her. She bit your lip and succumbed to her fate. Inwardly, Hitomi was begging to Karma and asking what she had done to deserve this.

Standing up, Hitomi were glad that Kise was instantly behind her and hiding the stain of her period on her skirt. At least he was somewhat chivalrous, that earned him a couple brownie points with her, but not enough to get into Hitomi's good book.

Hitomi fiddled with the hem of her jumper as she felt the gazes of her classmates on her. It displeased her and made her nervous. Hitomi didn't like unwanted attention.

As Hitomi left the classroom and heard the door slide shut behind her, she let out a breath she had no idea she'd been holding. She was glad to have gotten out of there and avoid a potentially embarrassing situation.

Hitomi froze as arms wrapped around her from behind and she could feel a breath blowing on her ear, sending involuntary shivers down her spine.

"Now we're alone."

An 'eep' escaped her lips and Hitomi elbowed the person behind her, a sense of _déjà vu_ briefly overcoming her.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow..." she heard Kise repeat as he crumpled to the floor in a heap, clutching his stomach.

_'Serves that bastard right,'_ Hitomi thought. How dare he invade her personal space.

"Get up," Hitomi said before turning around and marching away, not even bothering to look back to see if Kise was following her.

* * *

"She isn't here."

Hitomi felt an eyebrow twitch.

"I can see that, Captain Obvious."

Kise laughed and Hitomi pursed her lips. God he was annoying.

Hitomi's eyes surveyed the room and eventually settled on a cupboard in which she knew the nurse kept some spare pads for unfortunate female students who would suddenly acquire their monthly cycle in the middle of school. Hitomi hoped she would never be one of them again.

"Are you sure you should be doing that without the nurse here?" asked the blonde as he watched her scavenge through the cupboard.

"I'm sure it's fine," Hitomi said offhandedly, grabbing a packet of pads out of the cupboard and opening it.

"Turn around," she instructed the blonde, eyeing him cautiously. He tilted his head in confusion.

"Why?"

Hitomi wanted to face-palm at his stupidity. "Because I'm going to be half-naked in three, two, one."

Catching the implications of her words, the blonde spun around after Hitomi counted up to two and covered his eyes. "I'm not looking. I repeat, I'm not looking."

Violet eyes rolled at the model's childish behaviour. What was he? Seven?

As Hitomi pulled up her socks as she finished putting on her pad and tying her jumper around her waist to hide the stain, she asked Kise, "Can you please stop hanging around me?"

"Hmm?"

Turning around, Hitomi walked past the blonde and rested her hand on the handle of the sliding door.

"I don't exactly...desire your company. You're not the type of person I'd hang around, and it's not like you have anything to gain from being around me," Hitomi told him, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. She were surprised by his reply.

"Oh, but I do have plenty to gain."

Hitomi was confused by his words. What was he talking about? What could he gain from her?

Perplexed, she decided not to linger on what Kise said and told him, "Anyway, just leave me alone."

As she was about to slide open the door, Hitomi was startled when she was suddenly pushed up against the wall and burning, mischievous golden eyes were levelled to her own wide lilac ones.

"Well then, I promise to never leave you alone."

* * *

**_'Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hope...but no plans.' - Peter Drucker_**


End file.
